Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
He drives his truck under the large Sullivan Ranch sign, and for the first time in a while, my gut clenches. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s all the talk about my dad tonight.
He parks, and we both get out.
“What the hell are they doing up?” Sully asks, the worry clear in his voice, and I follow his gaze to the large front porch, where his parents are sitting on the swing.
It’s not unusual for his parents to sit on the porch, but obviously not this late.
“Let’s go make sure everything is okay,” Sully says, and I breathe out a sigh of relief. If he thought this was about me, he wouldn’t want me to go.
I follow Sully over.
“Is something wrong?” he asks.
“Oh no,” his mom says, “not really. I just… You know how I get sometimes. I had a bad feeling tonight, is all. I was worried about all of you, and your daddy didn’t want me to be up alone.” Her gaze shoots back and forth between Sully and me.
“Where’s everyone else?” his dad asks.
Sully sighs, takes his hat off, and runs a hand through his hair. “Ah, hell. Might as well tell you tonight. Things didn’t go quite as planned.”
“I told you it’s not a good idea to be so friendly with the hands,” his dad snaps, and while I know I should keep my mouth shut, it doesn’t listen.
“This has nothing to do with him. Bishop didn’t do anything wrong. Randy is out of control.” I cross my arms.
“With all due respect, Porter, this conversation is between me and my son. I—”
Mrs. Sullivan cuts him off. “What happened?”
“Porter is right. Everyone was having a great time, and we were bonding, having fun. Randy showed up angry and drunk, hollering about stuff he had no business talking about. Not one person in Buck’s would tell you anyone was in the wrong but him. He almost started a fight.”
I note that Sully doesn’t tell them it was me Randy almost started a fight with.
“I knew it. I knew something was wrong.” His mom wrings her hands together. “Where is he now?”
“Wade’s handling it.”
“Don’t fret.” Mr. Sullivan puts an arm around her. “We’ll talk about it more tomorrow and get him squared away.”
Sully’s momma sighs and lets her husband lead her into the house. She gives me a smile, then squeezes Sully’s arm in support, before they close the door behind them.
As nice as Mr. Sullivan tries to be with me on the surface, it’s not hard to tell he’s got some walls up where I’m concerned—not that I don’t have them as well.
“I’m going to bed,” I say, heading for the bunkhouse.
Sully follows right behind. “Come to my room with me tonight. Don’t let that other shit take something away from us.”
I want to be with Sully, want to spend the whole night in his bed, and get up in the morning and take a shower with him, before we head out for a long day on the ranch. That ain’t gonna happen, but I’m not strong enough to turn down any part of him I can have. “You need my cock, Sully? Is that what this is?”
“I need you,” he replies gently, his voice full of vulnerability.
Those three words have the ability to mask everything else, to push it so deep, I can almost forget it’s there. “I need you too,” I nearly growl, wishing I could pull him to me right now, but I can’t. Instead, we walk side by side like we’re nothing but ranch owner and hand. I have to pretend to go one direction, then sneak around the house to his private entrance. Later, I’m sure Wade will make an excuse to the guys about where I am, and then I’ll slip out of Sully’s bed in the middle of the night and return to the bunkhouse.
But that’s not right now, and the second we’re behind the closed door of his rooms, we’re on each other, tugging boots off, ripping out of clothes, only stopping to touch and kiss and maul each other with our hands.
In these moments, nothing matters except me and Sully. We can lose ourselves in the want we have for each other that’s burned hot and strong, undeniable and unexplainable, for years.
“Sit on the edge of the bed, Sully,” I instruct him, see him swallow the lump in his throat, then does as I say. “Spread those pretty thighs for me.” He does, and I step between them, hooking my finger beneath his chin and tilting his head up. “You’re so fucking sexy.” I swipe my thumb along his bottom lip. “Doesn’t matter how many men I’ve had, I was never satisfied because they were never you. It made me hate you sometimes, hate that I wanted you more than anything else in this world. I don’t hate it anymore…not when you look at me with those eyes like you do…like I matter. No one has looked at me like that before.”